A global methane emissions reduction target is currently emerging as a potential key outcome of COP28, and COP president-elect Sultan al Jaber has mentioned the issue in numerous speeches over the past few months. Al Jaber, who is also the minister of industry for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and head of the state-owned energy company Adnoc, is calling for a gradual phase-out of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2030. Read the full article here:
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Many Western negotiators will welcome this demand. US climate negotiator John Kerry is pushing the methane issue and is receiving a lot of backing from US President Joe Biden. The EU wants to regulate the sector more. And even China approached the US on methane at the last climate conference. International organizations such as the IEA and UNEP have been calling for more haste for some time.
Sultan al Jaber is COP28 President-Designate and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change (Foto: IMAGO / Bernd Elmenthaler)
UAE: no transparency, little commitment
But the UAE itself is not doing much to lower its methane emissions. A Guardian investigation shows that the Emirates do not report their emissions to the UN. In fact, the UN has required a methane report every two years since 2014. However, unlike other oil states in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, the UAE has yet to present a report. The lack of transparency shows: The UAE is a poor role model for other states.
In addition, the Emirates is one of the countries with high methane emissions from oil and gas production. According to a study, the sector’s methane emissions are 3.3 percent – that is, 3.3 percent of the natural gas extracted during oil and gas production escapes into the atmosphere instead of being put on the market. Oil production in the Emirates thus generates particularly high methane emissions. Although emissions in the Emirates are only slightly higher than those from US oil and gas fields, they are far higher than those from Saudi Arabia (0.14 percent) or Qatar (0.06 percent).
This article first appeared in Climate.Table, a product of Table.Media - Professional Briefings. Register for a free trial here.
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The blind cannot lead others who have a vision. We need to be better with our decision making
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Methane reduction will be a key topic at COP28! I hope that countries will take it seriously and reach an impactful agreement, but the position of the UAE on this matter is a bit worrying.
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Transparency is the key in all sectors
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Read the full article here: https://go.table.media/WeGOr